DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters associated with it. They belong to their respective owners. This storyline, however, does belong to me.

Juud: Yes, I'm feeling much better now, thanks. :D Just needed to rest for a couple of days. Have a bit of an eye infection though. XD I'm falling apart! T-T

Byakuxhisa4eva: Um, yes. She'll be introduced sooner or later. Probably at the wedding.

A/N: Been a little down in the dumps the last few days, but I'm back and semi-healthy. :D Thank you for all your congratulations regarding my graduating and for all your well-wishing regarding my getting sick. It was just a mean cold, I think.

The House of Kuchiki

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Things went about as usual in the Kuchiki household following the announcement of Byakuya's engagement to Hisana. The elders still complained, Byakuya still silenced them, Hisana was still treated well by the servants, and Arisu was still overly excited about the whole situation.

Now officially promoted to wedding planner, she could be seen bouncing around the manor making sure her 'wedding crew' was doing what they were supposed to.

Some were assigned to writing invitations and forming a top-notch guest list, some were assigned to sorting out Hisana's wardrobe for the days to come, some were assigned to annoying Byakuya in Arisu's place, and others were assigned to mapping out the cost of decorations. From an outside perspective, the whole team appeared to be quite organized. And, in general, they were.

That is, until Byakuya dismissed the team assigned to pester him. Seeing as how they were HIS servants, they had to obey and were left wandering the house not knowing what to do and generally getting in the way.

The elders were getting questions from other noble houses and individuals with influence in Seireitei, the news of the engagement leaking out through a certain kimono-making family. Dismissing the rumors as false, the elders were quite smug with their apparent success in keeping the Kuchiki name clean. Then Byakuya found out about their lies and was quick to set things straight. He was, indeed, engaged to a woman named Hisana, who was, indeed, from Rukongai. Yes, he was serious; no, he didn't care if it destroyed the purity of the in-bred nobles; yes, he was perfectly sound in terms of mental health; no, he was not going to change his mind.

Hisana continued attending the academy, staying clear of the Yumiko, and if it was impossible to do so, she had Matsumoto with her at all times, as per Byakuya's request.

A month passed with little conflict, and Byakuya made sure to make it to lunch each day. Matsumoto's schedule didn't allow her to be with Hisana during lunch and heavens knew what would happen to her if she was alone.

The weekly captains' meeting had been moved until late in the school day that week, so eating lunch together was a definite, but walking back from academy to the manor was an uncertainty. Thankfully, there was still Matsumoto, if her last class let out on time. And since it always seemed to let out on time, there shouldn't have been any problems.

But, of course, that day, the professor had decided that he wanted to keep them late as a punishment for the poor grades on the pop quiz on demon magic incantations, leaving Hisana alone in the hallways after classes waiting for her friend to arrive.

After ten minutes of standing outside the room, Hisana finally gave up and decided she'd walk to the manor alone. After all, Yumiko wouldn't be staying after school, and if it was just Yumiko she could certainly handle things on her own.

After turning the corner towards the exit of the academy, Hisana realized, upon spotting Yumiko and her posse, that the club leader was never alone.

Just what she needed. A confrontation. Maybe if I pretend I don't see them they won't bother me.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Hisana-chan." Wrong again.

Hisana forced a smile. "What are you staying after for, Yumiko-san?"

"Waiting for you, my dear. Captains' meeting was postponed until this afternoon. You gotta love the court-wide announcements." Yumiko took a few steps towards Hisana, smirking as Hisana took a few steps back. "I would have talked with you earlier, but that bothersome Matsumoto was always with you when your beloved fiancé wasn't."

"Although... we don't mind having your fiancé at the academy; we like him. But the fact that he's with YOU... that's something we might have to change." Yumiko flash stepped towards Hisana and grabbed her by her right hand and slammed her against the wall.

Hisana let out a scream of pain, which was immediately muffled by Yumiko's free hand which was being used to pin her against the wall as well. The fan club closed in on the two of them to eliminated Hisana's possibility of escape.

"Now, you listen to me, Hisana." Yumiko pressed down harder on Hisana's right wrist, causing tears to flow from Hisana's eyes. "You're going to call off this wedding. Kuchiki-sama deserves far better than you."

Yumiko let her grip loosen and she stepped back, the fan club still surrounding Hisana. "Do we have an understanding?"

Hisana, who was clutching her now swelling wrist, didn't respond.

Yumiko narrowed her eyes and stepped on foot towards Hisana, going to grab her once more. "Did you not hear..." She trailed off, blinking at the now empty spot where Hisana was once standing. "Where did she...?" She looked around, her eyes going wide when she finally found Hisana.

Yumiko took a step forward only to be stopped by a row of glowing pink swords falling down into the ground right in front of her feet. Looking down at her barely intact toes, she went pale before looking up. "Kuchiki-sama... I didn't..."

Byakuya's eyes narrowed slightly as he raised his hand, the flower petals that had been hovering around Hisana and himself now floating over to hover right over the fan club. "Such a wonderful thing to come back from the captains' meeting to see..."

"Although, this way, you get to see the bankai you have been fussing about. So I supposed threatening my fiancée was worth it, no?" He lowered his hand slightly, directing the petals down to the point where the fan club members ducked down in fear. "If I hear of you giving her troubles again..." He lowered his hand slightly, gently brushing the tops of the girls' heads. "I won't stop my hand."

"Do we have an understanding?"

Yumiko nodded slowly. "Y-yes, sir. I apologize, Kuchiki-sama..."

Byakuya raised his hand up and towards him, the pink swords dissolving into petals as well, and gathering together to reform the blade of Senbonzakura's unreleased state. "Hisana. Let's go."

---

Outside of the academy grounds, Hisana reached her right hand out to grab Byakuya's left and flinched, pulling it back with a quiet scream, clutching her her wrist gently.

Byakuya frowned at her. "You told me you were alright."

"I am fine. It's nothing. Just a sprain, I suppose."

"Let me see." Byakuya offered out his hand to take hers. Hisana shook her head. Frowning, Byakuya repeated himself, firmer. "Let me see it, Hisana."

Hisana bit her lip and slowly lifted her hand up to put it in his. "See? It's nothing."

Byakuya carefully looked her swollen wrist over with a frown. "It's broken. We'll go to Captain Unohana, she'll fix it enough for it to stop hurting, if not completely."

Hisana quickly pulled her hand back and shook her head defiantly. "No. I won't go."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "No? And why not?"

"Because you didn't. And you said that it was because you were foolish and undeserving of healing. Well, I feel foolish and undeserving. So I won't go."

Byakuya sighed and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "It's not your fault she hurt you, Hisana... How is that foolish?"

"Because I shouldn't have wandered without Rangiku-chan... and now we can't hold hands anymore because you won't be able to draw Senbonzakura out if we run into trouble if I'm holding your right hand instead of your left... like we usually do..." Hisana looked down sadly.

Byakuya smiled slightly. "Here..." He pulled the sheath of Senbonzakura out and switched it to his right side. "Now I can draw it out with my left hand and you can hold my right, how's that?"

Hisana looked up at him with a sad smile. "But now you're not used to that... you'll feel strange."

Byakuya shook his head and offered her his right hand, smiling as she took it. "Hisana... I'd feel even more strange if I had to walk home without holding your hand."

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Wedding in the next chapter which should be up tomorrow, now that I'm feeling better.